Boston, MA – A federal judge in Boston has issued a temporary injunction against the Trump administration’s plan to deport migrants to Libya, ruling that such action would violate an existing court order safeguarding migrants’ due process rights.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued the ruling late Wednesday after immigration attorneys filed an emergency request to block imminent deportations. The attorneys cited “multiple credible sources” indicating that flights were being prepared to send migrants to the North African country.
In his decision, Judge Murphy said the deportation effort “blatantly” defied a prior injunction that mandates the U.S. government provide migrants with written notice in a language they understand, as well as a meaningful opportunity to file legal claims against removal.
The court’s intervention followed a CBS News report—corroborated by two U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity—that the administration could begin deporting migrants to Libya as early as this week.
Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh responded forcefully to the reports, stating on social media platform X that Libya “refuses to be a destination for the deportation of migrants under any pretext.”
The U.S. State Department has not commented publicly on the matter, and when asked about the plan, President Donald Trump said, “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Homeland Security.”
Libya has endured over a decade of political instability and armed conflict following the 2011 ousting of Muammar Gaddafi. The country is currently divided between a UN-recognized government in the west and forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar in the east. The U.S. government has long advised Americans to avoid travel to Libya due to high risks of crime, terrorism, and civil unrest.
It remains unclear how many migrants the administration intends to deport to Libya or which areas they would be sent to.
Libya is reportedly one of several countries the Trump administration has approached regarding migrant deportations. Rwanda confirmed this week it is in the “early stages” of discussions with the U.S. Other nations reportedly contacted include Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, and Moldova.
Earlier this week, the administration also offered undocumented migrants a one-time payment of $1,000 to voluntarily leave the country—a move that has drawn criticism from immigrant rights advocates.
Since returning to office in January, President Trump has escalated immigration enforcement measures, including mass deportations and controversial legal tactics, such as invoking obscure wartime authorities.
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